Could Apple like the old design better? Our humble theory is that they do. We suspect that under-warranty returns proved too cumbersome and clunky with the design of the iPhone 4’s. As experts who have repaired hundreds of both the iPhone 3’s and 4’s, the design of the 3’s is much more elegant and easy to repair. It’s also far less prone to breakage, as the back housing is not made of glass. We speculate that Apple grew weary of the redesign as well.

Of course this is not to discount all of the other changes that might have forced the return to the older design. Changing the ratio of the screen or the positioning of the camera may have contributed to the necessity of the return to the Ole Faithful design of the 3GS. To run down all of the major differences we can see, we’ve compiled this list.

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With these photos we can confirm:

Some Striking Similarities to the 3GS

Apple has reworked the whole LCD Assembly and front Digitizer of the device. There are 3 flex cables. The first seems to be the proximity ear speaker, and the front camera. The last two probably LCD and Digitizer.

The ratio of the device itself hints that it is indeed the long-rumored bigger screen.

The camera is in the front middle of the ear speaker, no longer on the side of the ear speaker.

It looks like it has a black ear speaker mesh instead of the typical metallic mesh.

The home button is going to have more support as it backed by a metal bracket. Rather than being supported by prongs or push cables, it may actually be a combination of both.

It appears to have a plastic 3GS-type midframe running around the digitizer and glass LCD assembly.

The metal brackets suggest that it will be sitting in a housing that’s similar to that of the 3GS, but more modern and updated.

From the width of the bracket, we can tell the charger port is going to be smaller (as rumored) because it has to fit between the two bottom screw brackets, exactly like in the 3GS.

These pictures show that the LCD may pull apart from the Digitizer, given the side-situated rivets. (This is similar again to the 3GS, but a departure from the 4 and 4S.)

We notice a striking similarity to a 3GS, with the bottom screws and brackets. We think it will pull open from the front.

So, could this be the iPhone 5 real thing? We think so, and these photos seem prove a lot of what the tech world has been suspecting all along regarding the new iPhone 5. Could Apple be going back to the old faithful model of the iPhone 3Gs? It looks probable. We applaud the return to the previous design for ease of repair and an elegance of design.